Rapid thermal annealing of polysilicon thin films
- 1 December 1998
- journal article
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems
- Vol. 7 (4) , 356-364
- https://doi.org/10.1109/84.735342
Abstract
In comparison with conventional heat treatment, high-temperature rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in a radio frequency (RF) induction-heated system can reduce or eliminate residual stresses in thin films in a few seconds. In this work, changes in the stress level due to the RTA of polycrystalline silicon thin films were studied as a function of annealing time and temperature. The corresponding variations in the microstructure and surface layer of the thin films were experimentally investigated by a variety of analytical tools. The results suggest that the residual stress evolution during annealing is dominated by two mechanisms: 1) microstructure variations of the polysilicon thin film and 2) effects of a surface layer formed during the heat treatment. The fact that the microstructure changes are more pronounced in samples after conventional heat treatment implies that the effects of the formed surface layer may dominate the final state of the residual stress in the thin film.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- In Situ Phosphorus-doped Polysilicon For Integrated MemsPublished by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ,2005
- Measurements of residual stresses in thin films using micro-rotating-structuresThin Solid Films, 1998
- Residual-stress relaxation in polysilicon thin films by high-temperature rapid thermal annealingSensors and Actuators A: Physical, 1998
- Some general properties of stress-driven surface evolution in a heteroepitaxial thin film structureJournal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 1994
- Properties of polysilicon films annealed by a rapid thermal annealing processThin Solid Films, 1992
- Electrostatic-comb drive of lateral polysilicon resonatorsSensors and Actuators A: Physical, 1990
- Mechanical properties of thin filmsMetallurgical Transactions A, 1989
- As-deposited low-strain LPCVD polysiliconPublished by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ,1988
- Stresses and deformation processes in thin films on substratesCritical Reviews in Solid State and Materials Sciences, 1988
- The Behavior of Polysilicon Thin Film Stress and Structure Under Rapid Thermal Processing ConditionsMRS Proceedings, 1988